Smartoptics Group AS

Regulatory Filings • Nov 6, 2025

Press Release

Smartoptics becomes a member of the IOWN Global Forum

Oslo, Norway – November 6, 2025 – Smartoptics is pleased to announce that it has joined the IOWN Global Forum, a global industry forum advancing next-generation photonics and optical communications infrastructure.

The Innovative Optical and Wireless Network Global Forum (IOWN Global Forum) is an industry initiative founded in 2020 by NTT, Intel, and Sony. The Forum brings together leading companies and research institutions to accelerate the development of next-generation communications infrastructure based on photonics and wireless technologies.

By becoming a member of the Forum, Smartoptics will engage with a network of forward-looking organizations to contribute to and benefit from the development of standards, reference architectures and proof-of-concepts focused on ultra-low latency, high capacity and energy-efficient optical networks. This membership aligns with Smartoptics' strategic focus on open, high-performance and cost-effective optical infrastructure.

"We are excited to become part of the IOWN Global Forum and to collaborate with other leading players to shape the future of optical networks," said Kent Lidström, CTO of Smartoptics. "This step supports our ambition to deliver next-generation solutions that meet the evolving demands of service providers, data centers and cloud-infrastructure operators."

Smartoptics looks forward to actively participating in Forum workgroups and initiatives, allowing us to participate in the development of ultra-high-capacity, low-latency, and energy-efficient networks that support future digital services and AI-driven applications.

For more information please contact:

Magnus Grenfeldt CEO Smartoptics +46 73-366 88 77

E-mail: magnus.grenfeldt@smartoptics.com

About Smartoptics

Smartoptics provides innovative optical networking solutions and devices for the new era of open networking. Our customer base includes thousands of enterprises, governments, cloud providers, Internet exchanges as well as cable and telecom operators. We have an open networking approach in everything we do which allows our customers to break unwanted vendor lock-in, remain flexible and minimize costs. Our solutions are used in metro and regional network applications that increasingly rely on data center services and specifications. Smartoptics is a Scandinavian company founded in 2006. We partner with leading technology and network solution providers such as Brocade, Cisco and Dell and have a global reach through more than 100 business partners.

For additional information about Smartoptics, please visit https://www.smartoptics.com/

About IOWN Global Forum

The IOWN Global Forum is a global industry initiative established to develop and promote nextgeneration photonics-based communications infrastructure through collaboration on standards, reference architectures, proof-of-concepts and use-cases. For more information: www.iowngf.org